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April 5, 20240 citationsOpen Access

Heme-based water aquareceptors

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SASavani Anbalagan

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Abstract

How cells sense water is a fundamental question in biology and for the evolution of life. The mechanisms underlying hygrosensation in numerous organisms and animals have been experimentally demonstrated. However, hygrosensation has mainly been investigated only in specialized sensory cells (hygroreceptors). However, single-celled microorganisms must have water-sensing protein-based sensors or receptors (or aquareceptors) that would have enabled them to migrate and survive in water-scarce regions or conditions (via osmoadaptation or etc.,) and also evolve into multicellular organisms. But whether water sensing majorly occurs via osmoreceptors/osmosensors or mechanoreceptors or direct water-sensing aquareceptors is unclear. In my opinion, just as gas (solute)-sensing gasoreceptor functions in almost every cell, water-sensing aquareceptors must also function in almost every cell. Due to the potential capability of water molecules to antagonize the gas-binding sites in the heme moiety-containing sensor domains of gasoreceptors, I propose that some heme-based gas-sensing gasoreceptors may have a parallel role as water-sensing protein aquareceptors. And I wonder if hemoglobin can also be considered an aquareceptor due to its nitrite reductase activity.

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Savani Anbalagan (2024) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68e70547b6db64358767eea6https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/byqhm
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